Getting passport tomorrow! Card ok for Belize?

[Mrs.Gosse]

HELP! We are taking our adult children on a cruise to Cozumel, Belize and Honduras. DH and I have regular passport books but we are getting their passports tomorrow. Do my kids need books or can they just get cards.I have done as much research as I can but nothing is completely clear. People just keep quoting the passport website that says Carribean. I have also read that Belize and Honduras do not participate in the Western Hemisphere travel initiate.

 

What I need is for someone to PLEASE tell me if they PERSONALLY have used a card or been with a person who used a card in belize and Honduras.

 

Thanks everyone!! I'm freaking out and it's the difference of $400.'

[crewsweeper]

Either will work.

 

You'll need them to board the ship and after that, you really don't need them. Lock them in your cabin safe. Some cruisers like to carry them (or Photostats of them) in case of emergencies. But if you're not planning on venturing out on your own beyond the normal tourist confines in Cozumel or Belize you'll not need them only your sign and sail card to get back on board your ship.

[Wellard]

Hi. I'm speaking as a non American. Passports are needed to travel anywhere in the world.

I think having a passport will allow you to travel back to you home country (America) with no extra hassle, if you miss the ship.

You can not guarantee what country you may need to travel through to return home or catch-up with the ship at a later date/port.

Not all countries may take a card as a form of international ID.

[cherylandtk]

I realize this is too late for the OP, but for anyone else with the same question: For RT closed loop cruising under the WHTI, the OP's adult children only need certified US birth certificate for proof of citizenship and government issued ID. This includes Belize and Roatan. Some cruiselines may make additional rules, but in OP's case she is on Princess and the children are adults, so additional rules do not apply in this case.

 

The secondary question, relating to emergency travel, is a matter of personal choice and risk tolerance. In that case, the passport book is the better choice.

 

The last consideration is cost. If money is the main concern, the card does not get you anything more than the BC/ID does.